The Hypocrisy called American Justice
Off the keyboard of Phillip Farruggio
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This snippet from the main section of today’s USA Today in Brief section on page 2: Hearings Begin At Gitmo for 9/11 Terror Suspects….” The military judge did agree with the defense lawyers who said their clients shouldn’t have to attend the rest of the week-long hearing because it dredges up memories of treatment in CIA detention. The pre-trial hearing includes an effort by prosecutors to prevent (my italics) the accused from revealing details of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.” Duh, that means torture folks! Take a guess who it was that instructed John Yoo and Jay Bybee to write the protocols to circumvent the Geneva Accords and embrace the use of enhanced interrogations AKA torture? You know the little guy with the glasses who sat there, during his confirmation hearing to become Bush Junior’s new Attorney General. It was none other than Alberto Gonzales, the one who Senator Joe Biden told “I like ya, and I’m probably going to vote for ya “(he did). Biden knew, well before those hearings even began, that Fredo Gonzales was directly linked to those protocols. Jay Bybee, for his immoral deeds, was promoted to a federal judgeship- why not? John Yoo was hired by that liberal UC Berkley for a professorship. The age of hypocrisy is center stage.
So, we have what they call enemy combatants remain detained at Gitmo, the place that Barack Obama promised us four years ago that he would shut down. Who are these people, many of whom have been incarcerated without their day in court for almost a decade? Are they terrorists by the textbook definition? Maybe handfuls are truly bad guys who want to kill Americans just for some fanatical religious cause. Then again, what we do know as fact is that after the (illegal) invasion of Afghanistan in 2002, the warlords AKA poppy producers, gobbled up and sold many Afghans to the Americans for very high bounties… I mean, like very high cash rewards. In many circumstances, the word of a warlord could send an Afghan off to Gitmo and our enhanced interrogations. Please watch Alex Gitney’s fine documentary Taxi to the Dark Side and see how things were working 10 years ago. We now know about what went on at Abu Ghraib prison, don’t we?
Last night’s second presidential debate AKA town hall meeting was one more round of hypocrisy at the highest levels. For the second time, and also with last weeks’ Biden vs. Ryan debate, little if nothing was even discussed about A) what in the hell are we even doing occupying Afghanistan and Iraq in the first place? ;B) when will all those innocent civilians we killed with our Shock and Awe and drone attacks influence the group conscience of our nation? C) the % of our tax dollars we spend for this military empire ( 56 cents of every federal tax dollar received in fiscal year 2011 ) ;D) why do we continue to maintain, at a costly expense, over 850 + bases in over 100 different countries? ; E) How drastic cuts in military spending could positively solve our state and city budget shortfalls?
Instead of real debate on what is truly bankrupting our economy and our soul as a nation, these 2 Party scam job debates only serve up hot button peripheral issues and lots of “He’s wrong! That‘s not true! “Four thousand young Americans are dead, along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan citizens, for what? Did you ever hear McCain and Obama in 2008 discuss the run-up to the invasions? Of course, the whole 9/11 Truth movement has been marginalized and actually cartoonized by a compliant media and 2 Party politicians. You see, nothing of truth even exists anymore in mainstream Amerika. Instead, we have what we are now living through during this season of the horserace. Stop looking at the horse’s head and focus on the other end, and watch what comes out.
PA FARRUGGIO
October 17th, 2012
Update: POTUS Debate #3
Sellouts: An Empire Love Story
They were supposed to have a foreign policy debate last night between Obama and Romney. What you saw is exactly what you have been getting from the embedded politicians and mainstream media for God only knows how many years! Not one time during the pre debate and post debate talking heads shows, or during the actual 90 minute claptrap, was there ever a mention of just how much the military spending is. No one dared to bring up the fact that over 50 cents of each of our federal tax dollars goes to fund our War Empire. Readers of this writer’s work have read this over and over, and by now are most likely numbed by it. Yet, to any out there who still believe in the fairy tale of Two Party Democracy, please take caution before you go and vote.
This writer has a theory that seems each day to be closer to the truth. That being that anyone we find in political elected office, OR having any position of influence in (so called) mainstream media journalism (columnists, hosts of shows or talking head regular guests) has got to be a total sellout! For if they were not so, they would never see their name in lights or on a printed page. Period! The proof in the pudding is exactly what transpires during this latest 2012 Presidential horserace. Never has there been the issue of our 800+ bases worldwide and the obscene spending on our military empire. Both the president and his ‘ game show host Mr. Brylcream ‘ opponent love to talk about the deficit and the economy etc. Yet, they refuse to deal with the fact that it is the obscene military spending on phony wars and occupations that have the rulers of this empire happy as can be. The more the politicians sidestep the truth of what really ails us, the more the money is pumped out of our pockets and into theirs. So, with these two sellout candidates and their respective talking head media supporters, we get column A) and column B). Romney and his gang want column A) which is more and more military spending, in excess of the record breaking $ 563 billion last year ( which was almost double what we spent 10 years earlier- record-breaking at the time ). Column B) is Mr. Obama and his gang proud to say that he expects the military spending to remain the same or perhaps a wee bit higher. Meanwhile, we have Mom and Pop businesses going under, layoffs, severe state and city budget cuts… you know the drill?
No mention last night of the perils that the Palestinians are facing under the Israeli boot. No, only how Israel is our best ally and friend. Ask any member of the massive Israeli peace movement and they would say to both candidates “With friends like that…” The president was so proud of what we did to Libya with our bombing campaign that killed more innocent civilians than it did the regime’s military. Ditto for what we did to the Iraqis under Bush and Cheney, and now our drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan under a Democratic president. Boy oh boy, the movers and shakers of this Military Industrial Empire are laughing all the way to their banks, the money they are all making out of this ****. Yet, the majority of those who actually will go and vote only see the issues that the empire controlled media want them to focus on. Shame on them! Guess what? When all the smoke clears on November 7th, the Fat Cats who run this empire could not give a rat’s ass who the suckers put in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Most likely, they would rather see Obama re-elected so as to use him (as they have already) to ‘Keep the natives off the streets ‘when the next depression finally takes hold. To date, we have had only a mere foreshadowing of it… the rest is on the way.
PA Farruggio
October 23rd, 2012
{Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on Information Clearing house, Dandelion Salad, Doomstead Diner, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and Smirking Chimp sites), an environmental products sales rep and an activist. Since 2010, Philip is a spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net }